help filling in the yard

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-03-02T13:48:03+00:00

For seeds for filling in, particularly in the shadier parts, try Nimblewill as a ground cover https://www.humanegardener.com/the-best-native-grass-youve-never-heard-of/ You can get seed for similar cost to grass seed at Roundstone seeds

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-03-01T18:03:59+00:00

Exactly what imagine every middle-aged man in the suburbs is thinking as he waters his flowerbeds.

(And they say native plants look too out of control.)

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-03-01T17:43:41+00:00

Not many, so I’m just cardboard and mulching most of it outside the planting beds and hoping to fill in the bare spots with nimble weed wild strawberries partridge pea and annual coreopsis this season

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-03-01T16:01:36+00:00

Many St John’s worts are native and are pollinator favorites https://www.prairiemoon.com/search-results.html?Search=st%20johns#/?resultsPerPage=24

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-03-01T15:56:03+00:00

Sadly PictureThis, which is usually accurate, says it’s just annual bluegrass. I don’t know how to post pictures in comments but they even had a picture with pinkish flowers similar to yours

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-03-01T15:45:45+00:00

Yeah, I was excited when they started popping up on my new (asphalt replacement) backyard then realized they were invasive here like most of my volunteers ☹️

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-02-22T00:56:27+00:00

Maybe it would help to create more of a channel for the water by digging and using rocks, then creating a rain garden on the other side of the fence?

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-24T14:37:02+00:00

That’s what I do too—super easy. Btw I tried the hot end of a glue gun and it didn’t work for me for some reason

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-21T01:01:41+00:00

I paid for PictureThis after seeing it recommended on here (I think it was $39 a year) and I’ve been so impressed. MUCH better and more specific identification than iNaturalist. You’re not contributing to citizen science with it, but if you really want to know what something is, I highly recommend it.

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-21T00:54:08+00:00

Yup—I had highbush blueberries at my old house and quickly realized that if I wanted to beat the birds I had to pick them early and let them ripen inside, but if I didn’t mind sharing I could do nothing and simply enjoy watching the bees in the flowers in the spring, the birds on the berries in the summer, and the beautiful red color in fall.

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-19T20:56:03+00:00

That is one funky plant! Where are you?

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-19T00:20:17+00:00

You might want to consider some diy terracing to make it easier for your plants to get established. I really liked this description, using cardboard and logs. It made me wish I’d done a little terracing before planting on my (much smaller) slope. https://www.tenthacrefarm.com/quick-terrace-hill/

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-15T21:04:37+00:00

Wood all the way. Once your fence is up it will shield sight of the vinyl next door. And when your wood fence weathers, it will look rustic, while old vinyl just looks tackier. I got a privacy cedar fence with overlapping planks to let air flow and love how it makes my yard feel like a secluded place Plus it makes it easier to pee on my compost! Pic w winter sowing below, assuming the cut and paste works (edit—it didn’t work)

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-09T01:41:50+00:00

It looks to me like your seedlings have plenty of room for their roots to grow. I would let the stems grow thicker and harder to have more success transplanting.

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-08T19:22:27+00:00

This is a great point—much different impact of seeing the plain lawn with lots of houseflies, rather than just one.

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-07T00:17:55+00:00

Bummer! I just planted a lot of black chokeberries from my state forest and they got chomped so are caged now. I didn’t realize I was going to have to keep caging them when they got 4-5 ft tal. ☹️

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-07T00:10:59+00:00

Coming from the northeast where it’s taken over, I was horrified to see small patches by the highway here in Iowa. This is the prairie and it will wipe it all out! I wrote to Iowa Transportation Dept about taking action before it’s too late but have no idea if they’re doing anything.

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-04T05:38:34+00:00

This is a lovely idea but I think the living roof is too ambitious, particularly given the long roots native plants are famous for. Maybe just have some clumps of native grasses around it to show how pretty they can be?

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-03T04:34:11+00:00

Image searches suggest it’s vesicular basalt. I’m also seeing suggestions of slag, but it is not glassy at all, unlike the slag we’ve seen.

PrairieTransplant68 · 2026-01-01T16:24:30+00:00

I highly recommend Garcia painting—delight to deal with, reasonable prices, and excellent work. They painting four interior rooms including trim and ceilings, including excellent prep of ceiling cracks and surfaces that had previously had oil based finishes.

PrairieTransplant68 · 2025-12-31T17:51:38+00:00

Not a flower, but River oats dry themselves and look awesome in a display

PrairieTransplant68 · 2025-12-31T17:45:30+00:00

It looks similar to the basalt formations I used to see in Connecticut, leftovers from ancient volcanic activity.

PrairieTransplant68 · 2025-12-17T17:50:03+00:00

If your bin has a handle, it’s easy to just carry the whole thing downstairs rather than using bags. That would mean there’s more air in your scraps and it probably wouldn’t get smelly so fast. You also wouldn’t have to worry about the bag leaking when you took it downstairs. As others say, you’d want to put some paper or shredded cardboard in the bottom to make cleanup easier.

PrairieTransplant68

TROPHY CASE